Manufacture of steel direct from iron ores.



L. T. saumure. MANUFACTURE F STEEL DIRECT FROM IRON GRES. PPLICATIONFILED AUG-4| |911.

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Patented NOV. 5, ww.

' `iNVE/wml, uis Zig/laf@ wow/5 all@ wmwm be less than that in theordinary blast LUIS TEJJERO GROUSJELLE, UF GRENOBLE, FRANCE..

MNUFACTURE 0F STEIELVDIRJECT FROM '.llEtON DRES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov., 5, fait.

application tiled tugust t, 1917. Serial 1t o. ltte.

To aZZ whom it may concerm ,Y

lBe it known that ll, Luis Tirreno GaonsnLLii, a subject of the King ofSpain, residing at Grenoble, France, 39 Rue Lesdiguirs, have inventedcertain new and useful lmproveinents in the Manufacture of Steel Directfrom lfron Urss, of which the following is a specification.

` My invention relates to a furnace for producing steel direct from ironores.

The objects ofmy invention are :e

(1) 'llo obtain the same reactions as inthe blast furnace, but withoutany contact with free carbon, in order that the operation, whencompleted, should produce steel, and not cast iron;

(2) rlhat the temperature should be as high as, if not higher than, thatinthe ordinary blast furnace;

(3) rlhat the consumption of fuel should nace.

lln the drawing,

Figure 1 is a vertical section of the apparatus, 4

Fig. 2 is an elevation ina plane at a right angle to Fig. l, half insection, and

Fig. 3 is a plan.

rllhe apparatus comprises a sort of blast furnace provided witha'hearth, the whole A of more or less great dimensions according ttl tothe quantity of ore to be treated, the reducing and fusion functionsbeing entirely separated and brought about by gases of different nature.

ln a refractory masonry body a Fig. l) surrounded by ordinary masonry alandentirely armored outsideis a chamber b into which projects a metalchamber c extended by a sleeve 01 ofrefractory material. The chamber cis charged with ore through a hopper (Z, the inlet door all and theoutlet door e of which open alternately, the latter being opened bymeans of a lever with a balance weight 1" (Fig. 3), in order to preventair from getting in, or caping, during the charging of the ore.

Through the pipe 'u is admitted hydrogen or hydrogenated gas (watergais, natural gas, etc.) generated separately, which circulates in theupward direction in the pipe w with internal radiation ribs, heatedoutside by the hot escaping gases of the furnace circulating 1n thedownward direction in the gases from es flue w1, and enters through v1the chamber c, in order to filter through the ore in the downwarddirection and escape throu h the annular space left between the cham ersc and c1, and through the chimney w1. t 'lhe ore reduced'n the chamberc, follows its path through 21 and arrives at the shaft or stack Onarriving there, .it is heated by the large amount of heat Generated bythe blow pipes of the twyers Z, lZ, Z, etc., supplied withnonhydrogenated gases generated separately, and with air admittedthrough the orifice p; this air is heated by the waste heat owing to itscirculation in the coil s; the air is admitted cold at p and escapes hotat yin order to. pass to the collector mm which distributes it to thetwyers 0. As regards the non-hydrogenated gas (for fusion), it isadmitted at w, passes to the collector n a which also distributes it tothe twyers o.

The hearth j having received sufficient molten metal, the casting ise'ected through a.

The gases coming from the twyers Z, Z, Z, etc., circulate in the fusionchamber j and pass through 7c and c' to the chimney after havingfiltered through the reduced ore.. rllhe draft of this apparatus is bycompression, as between the gasproducing apparatus and the furnace arearranged fans, forcing gases into the furnace.

The gas producers can thus work freely, and their cleaning andmanipulation are facilitated.

llt goes without saying that the production of the gases, the admissionof the air and the temperature are regulated by valves of the twyers,and by the more or less great admission of hydrogen or of reducing gasinto 4the reducing chamber.

This being clearly understood, it will be 4 seen that the apparatus thusarranged complies with all the conditions which are: (1) 'lo effectreduction by hydrogen or by ,a hydrogenated and oxycarbonated or`hydrocarbureted gas, without having to fear the reverse reaction of theresulting water on the metal produced.

(2) '.lo carburet the iron obtained, .without converting it into castiron, since the carbureting carbon, and not by carbon, the reduction isbrought about by oxd of` taking place Without cont-act with the latter,the reducing gases as Well as the fusion gases being producedseparately.

(3) To'work with an enormous economy of fuel, this being due to theprocess and to the use of the waste heat for heating the combustion airand the reducing gases.

(41) To offer the advantage of enabling iron ore to be treated whichcontains impurities which render it useless for treatment by the usualprocesses, and any fuel to be used.

(5) To arrange a fusion and a purication chamber which offers all thenecessary conditions for insuring fusion and purication of the steelobtained.

(6) To Work by suction and compression, which facilitates themanipulation of the furnace and `of the gas producers, the Whole beingtranslated into'a. guarantee of uninterrupted Working.

l/Vhat I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patentis 1. .In a furnace for producing steel direct from iron ores, areducing chamber, means for introducing reducing gas therein, a meltingchamber, independent means for introducing heating gases into saidmelting chamber, and an exit passage way for the Waste gasesindependently connected with the reducing and melting chambers.

2. In a furnace for producing steel direct from iron ores, an upstandingstack, a reducing chamber extending longitudinally Within the stack andspaced laterally therefrom for providing a gas outlet passage, means forintroducing iron ore into the upper end of the reducing chamber, meansfor introducing a reducing gas into the upper end' of the reducingchamber, a tubular member arranged beneath and spaced from the lower endof the reducing chamber so that said lower end has communication withsaid gas outlet passage, said tubular member being spaced laterally fromsaid stack to provide a second gas passage, a melting chamber arrangedbeneath the tubular member and discharging its gases into the second gaspassage, and separate means for supplying heated gases to the meltingchamber.

In testimony whereof I aiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LUIS TEJERO GROUSELLE. Witnesses:

GEORGE CONSTANT, ALFRED MIRALL.

